Tweet
Nat Commun
. 2025 Apr 3;16(1):2900.
doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-57905-4. A novel PLpro inhibitor improves outcomes in a pre-clinical model of long COVID
Stefanie M Bader # 1 2 , Dale J Calleja # 1 2 , Shane M Devine # 3 4 , Nathan W Kuchel # 1 , Bernadine G C Lu 1 2 , Xinyu Wu 1 2 , Richard W Birkinshaw 1 2 , Reet Bhandari 1 2 , Katie Loi 1 2 , Rohan Volpe 1 2 , Yelena Khakham 1 , Amanda E Au 1 2 , Timothy R Blackmore 1 2 , Liana Mackiewicz 1 , Merle Dayton 1 , Jan Schaefer 1 2 , Lena Scherer 1 , Angus T Stock 1 2 , James P Cooney 1 2 , Kael Schoffer 1 2 , Ana Maluenda 1 , Elizabeth A Kleeman 1 5 , Kathryn C Davidson 1 2 , Cody C Allison 1 2 , Gregor Ebert 1 2 , Gong Chen 6 , Kasiram Katneni 6 , Theresa A Klemm 1 2 , Ueli Nachbur 1 2 , Smitha Rose Georgy 7 , Peter E Czabotar 1 2 , Anthony J Hannan 5 8 , Tracy L Putoczki 1 2 9 , Maria Tanzer 1 2 , Marc Pellegrini 1 2 10 , Bernhard C Lechtenberg 1 2 , Susan A Charman 6 , Melissa J Call 1 2 , Jeffrey P Mitchell 1 2 , Kym N Lowes 1 2 , Guillaume Lessene 11 12 13 , Marcel Doerflinger 14 15 , David Komander 16 17
Affiliations
The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has highlighted the vulnerability of a globally connected population to zoonotic viruses. The FDA-approved coronavirus antiviral Paxlovid targets the essential SARS-CoV-2 main protease, Mpro. Whilst effective in the acute phase of a COVID infection, Paxlovid cannot be used by all patients, can lead to viral recurrence, and does not protect against post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), commonly known as long COVID, an emerging significant health burden that remains poorly understood and untreated. Alternative antivirals that are addressing broader patient needs are urgently required. We here report our drug discovery efforts to target PLpro, a further essential coronaviral protease, for which we report a novel chemical scaffold that targets SARS-CoV-2 PLpro with low nanomolar activity, and which exhibits activity against PLpro of other pathogenic coronaviruses. Our lead compound shows excellent in vivo efficacy in a mouse model of severe acute disease. Importantly, our mouse model recapitulates long-term pathologies matching closely those seen in PASC patients. Our lead compound offers protection against a range of PASC symptoms in this model, prevents lung pathology and reduces brain dysfunction. This provides proof-of-principle that PLpro inhibition may have clinical relevance for PASC prevention and treatment going forward.
. 2025 Apr 3;16(1):2900.
doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-57905-4. A novel PLpro inhibitor improves outcomes in a pre-clinical model of long COVID
Stefanie M Bader # 1 2 , Dale J Calleja # 1 2 , Shane M Devine # 3 4 , Nathan W Kuchel # 1 , Bernadine G C Lu 1 2 , Xinyu Wu 1 2 , Richard W Birkinshaw 1 2 , Reet Bhandari 1 2 , Katie Loi 1 2 , Rohan Volpe 1 2 , Yelena Khakham 1 , Amanda E Au 1 2 , Timothy R Blackmore 1 2 , Liana Mackiewicz 1 , Merle Dayton 1 , Jan Schaefer 1 2 , Lena Scherer 1 , Angus T Stock 1 2 , James P Cooney 1 2 , Kael Schoffer 1 2 , Ana Maluenda 1 , Elizabeth A Kleeman 1 5 , Kathryn C Davidson 1 2 , Cody C Allison 1 2 , Gregor Ebert 1 2 , Gong Chen 6 , Kasiram Katneni 6 , Theresa A Klemm 1 2 , Ueli Nachbur 1 2 , Smitha Rose Georgy 7 , Peter E Czabotar 1 2 , Anthony J Hannan 5 8 , Tracy L Putoczki 1 2 9 , Maria Tanzer 1 2 , Marc Pellegrini 1 2 10 , Bernhard C Lechtenberg 1 2 , Susan A Charman 6 , Melissa J Call 1 2 , Jeffrey P Mitchell 1 2 , Kym N Lowes 1 2 , Guillaume Lessene 11 12 13 , Marcel Doerflinger 14 15 , David Komander 16 17
Affiliations
- PMID: 40180914
- DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-57905-4
The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has highlighted the vulnerability of a globally connected population to zoonotic viruses. The FDA-approved coronavirus antiviral Paxlovid targets the essential SARS-CoV-2 main protease, Mpro. Whilst effective in the acute phase of a COVID infection, Paxlovid cannot be used by all patients, can lead to viral recurrence, and does not protect against post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), commonly known as long COVID, an emerging significant health burden that remains poorly understood and untreated. Alternative antivirals that are addressing broader patient needs are urgently required. We here report our drug discovery efforts to target PLpro, a further essential coronaviral protease, for which we report a novel chemical scaffold that targets SARS-CoV-2 PLpro with low nanomolar activity, and which exhibits activity against PLpro of other pathogenic coronaviruses. Our lead compound shows excellent in vivo efficacy in a mouse model of severe acute disease. Importantly, our mouse model recapitulates long-term pathologies matching closely those seen in PASC patients. Our lead compound offers protection against a range of PASC symptoms in this model, prevents lung pathology and reduces brain dysfunction. This provides proof-of-principle that PLpro inhibition may have clinical relevance for PASC prevention and treatment going forward.